Description
A simple delicious recipe for Strawberry Turnovers (aka “Hand Pies”) with tasty strawberry filling and the most flakey buttery crust, sweetened with maple syrup!
Ingredients
Pie Crust (or use store-bought, or puff pastry)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 4–8 tablespoons ice water, as needed
Strawberry Filling
- 2 pints fresh strawberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, honey or sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot (or corn starch)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- generous pinch salt
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons milk or cream
- sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Make the pie dough. In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add cold-cut butter cubes and pulse until the mixture forms pea-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough comes together. Place dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a ball. Flatten into a disk . Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days, or freeze!
- Make the filling: Wash and cut strawberries into slices, enough to make about 2 cups. Place in a medium saucepan, and mix in 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup, vanilla, arrowroot, salt and lemon juice. Simmer on med-low heat, for about 10 minutes. (If the mixture seems too dry, add a little water.) Taste, add more maple to taste. Let cool completely in the fridge. You can do this the night before and chill in the fridge until ready to assemble.
- Assemble: Preheat oven to 400F.Divide dough into generous golfball-sized balls and place on a floured work surface, and roll into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. ( See notes for store-bought dough)
- Spoon 3 tablespoons of filling in the center. Fold dough over filling, leaving about 1 inch of dough on the bottom side visible below the top side- see photos. Gently press dough closed around filling, using your fingertips. Fold the overhanging bottom part of the dough up over the top edge, working your way around the crust, and pinch the overhang tightly to the top part of the crust.
- Crimp the edge tightly closed, pinching a little bit of dough with the thumb and forefinger of one hand and using your index finger, on the other hand, to push a small notch into the pinched dough. Continue pinching and notching all the way around until the crust is tightly crimped together. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Save a tiny bit of pie dough for patching. Transfer pies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Whisk egg with milk until smooth, and brush the turnovers with eggwash to give them a nice sheen. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. With a sharp knife, slice three slits, on the top for venting.
- Bake! Place in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffed.
Notes
NOTES: If using store-bought dough, unroll the dough on a floured surface, roll out with rolling pin from the center out, just a few times. Using a 6-inch rimmed bowl as a template, press out 3 x 6 inch rounds from each roll of dough. Combine the scraps into a ball, then divide into 3 balls and roll out into 3 more 6 inch disks ( for a total of 9 hand pies)
If using very ripe local strawberries, you may need less maple syrup, and if using store-bought not quite ripe strawberries, you may need a little more. Make sure to taste the filling. 😉
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 turnover
- Calories: 268
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 155.4 mg
- Fat: 16.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 3.8 g
- Cholesterol: 56.2 mg